Seeing Natsuro's calm demeanor, the Master Blacksmith wasn't angry. The warmth and goodwill he showed made Natsuro a bit puzzled.
But this was a good thing, so he decided not to say anything further.
"Little Tetsuya, remember not to underestimate any ninja from Konoha," the Master Blacksmith said with a smile, imparting his wisdom to his grandson. Having lived a long life, he had encountered many extraordinary ninjas.
"Hmm? Grandpa, did you meet ninjas when you were young?" Tetsuya asked curiously.
"Yes, when I was about your age, I met a very young ninja…" the Master Blacksmith's face showed a nostalgic expression as he paused his story.
"Grandpa, tell me more, don't just stop there!" Tetsuya's eyes lit up with curiosity, feeling disappointed as the story seemed to end abruptly.
"Alright, alright, I'll continue." The Master Blacksmith snapped back to the present, smiled at Natsuro, and said, "The ninja I met carried a short blade and had silver hair…"
At this, Natsuro stiffened. The description sounded familiar…
"He was extremely powerful. At first, I also doubted his abilities, but he quickly proved his strength," the Master Blacksmith said with a sense of admiration.
Tetsuya seemed to be hearing about this for the first time. His curiosity was fully piqued, and he asked eagerly, "Who was that ninja? Is he still in Konoha?"
"I don't know his name, but I do know his later title, which is very famous—Konoha's White Fang," the Master Blacksmith said.
"Wow, so cool!"
Natsuro wasn't surprised. From the Master Blacksmith's description, he had already guessed who it was.
"Unfortunately, it seems that Konoha's White Fang lost his life due to certain circumstances…" Master Blacksmith said with a sigh, showing some sadness.
"Grandpa, can you tell us more about him?" Tetsuya asked, also showing some sorrow. His empathy seemed a bit excessive and naive, indicating he had been very well protected.
Natsuro thought for a moment. The Land of Iron, which seemed to have a lower profile in the original story and was mainly known as the venue for the Five Kage Summit, was a neutral country. It was likely better than the ninja world environment… probably?
The Master Blacksmith continued telling Tetsuya stories from the past, particularly about White Fang, which drew continuous exclamations of amazement from Tetsuya.
...
"Young man, what's your name? We'll be together for a while, so I should know," the Master Blacksmith finally managed to extricate himself from his grandson's questioning and turned to Natsuro.
"Call me Ink, Master," Natsuro replied with a distant, ethereal tone, which was his voice in the meditative state.
"Alright, you can just call me Master, and for my grandson, just call him Tetsuya," the Master Blacksmith nodded and said.
"Ink, are you as powerful as Lord White Fang?" Tetsuya asked again, unable to contain his curiosity.
"I can't compare myself to Lord White Fang, but if you're referring to the White Fang from Master's stories, I might be a bit stronger," Natsuro replied directly.
"Wow, that's amazing."
The Master Blacksmith looked at Natsuro and shook his head. He couldn't tell, but if it were true, it was reassuring, at least for their safety.
"Someone's coming. Tetsuya, hide," Natsuro suddenly said.
"Huh?" Tetsuya looked at his grandfather.
"Quickly, listen to Ink and hide," Master Blacksmith said with a serious expression.
"Okay!" Tetsuya immediately hid, clearly used to this routine.
Soon, a knock on the door sounded.
"Who is it?" the Master Blacksmith, startled, glanced at Natsuro, who resembled his grandson. He felt reassured, realizing that even if White Fang had not sensed an approaching threat in advance, this situation was different.
"Master, I'm the one the captain sent with the fruit," came a familiar voice from outside the carriage.
"Place it in front of the carriage. Thank the captain for me," the Master Blacksmith said.
"Alright."
After a while, the Master Blacksmith looked at Natsuro, who nodded and said, "They've gone."
The Master Blacksmith sighed in relief. Natsuro opened the door slightly, brought in the fruit, and said, "It's best not to eat it."
"Hmm, it should be fine. I know the owner of that voice," the Master Blacksmith said, about to comment that Natsuro was being overly cautious. However, seeing his age and his concern, he sighed, wondering if this was the life of a ninja.
"I currently don't have a foolproof method to detect toxins," Natsuro responded.
"Ink, how did you know someone was coming?" Tetsuya came out, completely impressed and looking at him with admiration.
"Intuition," Natsuro replied and moved to the side, not elaborating further. He had checked the fruit and found no immediate issues, but he was not confident in his medical skills and thus did not provide a definitive answer.
"So Grandpa, should we eat it?" Tetsuya looked at the fresh fruit with some hesitation but was swayed by Natsuro's authority.
"Go ahead, it should be fine. They wouldn't bother with a dead old man," Master Blacksmith said with a smile.
Natsuro paused, his eyes flickering. That was indeed a valid point.
In the following time, Tetsuya kept trying to ask Natsuro various questions, but the Master Blacksmith pulled him away, noticing that he preferred not to be disturbed.
The Master Blacksmith observed the difference between his grandson and Natsuro , thinking that his grandson was cuter. He wondered if all young ninjas were so mature and serious like Ink and White Fang.
Natsuro, meanwhile, was sensing the situation around the convoy. Most of the people were ordinary, making his chakra perception less useful, but he could still detect their movements.
However, making judgments based on these sounds required extensive experience and could still be mistaken…
Additionally, there were four distinct chakra signatures around the convoy, arranged in a cross pattern. These were likely the visible team sent by Konoha, with chakra levels indicating possibly a Chunin leading three Genin. He had realized that many of the leading teachers for graduating students were not even Special Jounin.
After assessing the situation, he opened his eyes, looking through the window at the samurai. Observing their long swords, he thought about practicing swordsmanship. Although samurai and ninja combat styles differed, he could still learn some sword techniques.
Currently, using chakra for the Flying Thunder God Technique with Rasengan felt wasteful. If his sword could be stronger, he might not need to rely on Rasengan as much.
Furthermore, swordsmanship was not just about technique; learning the basics and integrating chakra usage could be beneficial…
Perhaps it was worth a try. He decided to explore this possibility.
Moreover, he had an advantage: 'as Tetsuya', he might find many willing to teach him, as it would allow them to make connections with the master blacksmith!
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